Electronic Journal of Polish Agricultural Universities (EJPAU) founded by all Polish Agriculture Universities presents original papers and review articles relevant to all aspects of agricultural
sciences. It is target for persons working both in science and industry,regulatory agencies or teaching in agricultural sector. Covered by IFIS
Publishing (Food Science and Technology Abstracts), ELSEVIER Science - Food Science and Technology Program, CAS USA (Chemical Abstracts), CABI Publishing
UK and ALPSP (Association of Learned and Professional Society Publisher - full membership). Presented in the Master List of Thomson ISI.

In old cemeteries in the Wielkopolska region, 1124 localities of Hedera
helix (European ivy) were found. In 863 of the cemeteries, flowering specimens
of this species were observed. The populations are clearly of anthropogenic origin.
The large number of its localities proves that it was popular in cultivation.
In the past it had a symbolic meaning.

Key words:
chorology, symbolic meaning, Wielkopolska, Polska.

INTRODUCTION

Hedera helix L. (European ivy, Araliaceae), an evergreen climber, grows
slowly (less than 1 m/year) and is a woody chamaephyte and phanerophyte.
Flowers are produced on specimens more than 10 years old, climbing high by means
of aerial roots and, thanks to this, having access to direct sunlight.Flowering
specimens are usually found in old parks, old cemeteries or gardens.

Ivy has been cultivated as an ornamental plant since ancient times. In Poland
initially it was cultivated in parks near palaces and manor houses and in cemeteries
as a symbolic plant, and later in gardens and urban parks, as a grateful ornamental
plant. Currently it is less commonly planted in the ground, and more often it
is grown in pots.

Hedera helix is an ideal ground-cover plant and climber. It is perfect
for covering tree trunks, pergolas, walls of buildings, and fences of various
types and heights, but it should be planted on their northern or north-western
sides. It can be planted under walls of historical buildings: castles, monasteries,
manor houses, and old tenements or apartment houses.

Vegetative specimens are found mostly in broad-leaved forests, but also on
rocky slopes and in gardens or cemeteries, while flowering and fruiting specimens
are primarily in former manor parks, old cemeteries, gardens, and sporadically
in broadleaved forests.

In natural conditions, Hedera helix grows in Europe, in the Caucasus,
and Asia Minor. In Poland it is classified as a native species, most common west
of the Vistula. It prefers sites characterized by high humidity [4]. In the wild
it is usually found in oak-hornbeam and alluvial forests or beech forests, less
often on cliffs and calcareous rocks. It is a tolerant species, growing on both
slightly acidic and alkaline soils, but it prefers moderately moist and humus-rich
soils. It can grow well not only at its typical sites, i.e. humid and shaded
forests, but also at dry and sunny sites and on rock debris. It is negatively
affected by long periods of hot weather. Tolerant to air pollution with sulphur
dioxide and particulates. Effectively self-sown in open woodlands and forests
with a disturbed herb layer, while less effectively in forests with dense herbaceous
vegetation.

Ivy was a subject of cult and beliefs. It symbolizes faithfulness, friendship,
and eternal life [13]. Early Christians regarded ivy as a symbol of immortality,
so they laid corpses on its leaves, and planted ivy on graves. This custom has
persisted to this day, so many spectacular specimens can be found in cemeteries.
In Germany, to this day, ivy is considered to be a symbol of joy, sociability,
and friendship.

Hedera helix has been classified in Poland as a protected species for
a long time, on the basis of the Regulation issued by the Minister of Education
on 29 August 1946. It was always under strict protection, but the Regulation
issued by the Minister of Forestry and Wood Industry on 28 February 1957 about
plant protection has introduced a specific note: only flowering specimens were
protected. According to the Regulation of the Minister of Environmental of 11
October 2001, also vegetative specimens were strictly protected. Currently, since
2014, on the basis of the Regulation of the Minister of Environmental of 16 October
2014, Hedera helix is no longer included in the list of protected species.

This study aims to present localities of flowering, climbing and trailing
specimens of this species in old cemeteries (no longer used for burial) in the
Wielkopolska region. Disseminated only thanks to birds from cemeteries, parks
or gardens to forests.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Field research was conducted in 2142 old cemeteries in 2005–2015 in
the whole Wielkopolska region. The borders of Wielkopolska have been delimited
according to the publication “Distribution of selected species of threatened
plants in Wielkopolska” [28].

The results are presented in a table, separately for the herb layer, shrub layer,
and the tree layer (flowering specimens). Each cemetery was treated as one locality.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

In old cemeteries in Wielkopolska, 1124 localities of Hedera helix were
found (Tab. 1). These include 863 cemeteries where flowering specimens were observed
(Tab. 2). The species can be regarded as naturalized, as it shows a high capacity
for sexual reproduction. The populations are clearly of anthropogenic origin
and ivy is present there thanks to human activity. The large number of its localities
proves that it was popular in cultivation. In the investigated cemeteries, H.
helix is often represented by many flowering specimens.

Table 1. List of localities of Hedera helix in old, cemeteries (no
longer used for burial) in the Wielkopolska region (PDF file)

Table 2. Frequency of Hedera helix in individual layers of vegetation in old cemeteries in Wielkopolska

Number of cemeteries

% of cemeteries

Tree layer

863

40.3

Shrub layer

1071

50.0

Herb layer

1101

51.4

The cemeteries with particularly abundant specimens can be threatened by ill-planned
management of old trees and occasional cases of destruction of old ivy specimens
by private persons.

Hedera helix for a long time has been of interest to dendrologists,
so it is well-studied and often described in the literature. Of special interest
were primarily flowering specimens, as in Polish climatic conditions they were
regarded as rare [6, 16, 18, 21, 24, 25]. The survey of old cemeteries in Wielkopolska
shows that the species is very common, represented by many flowering specimens.

European ivy, as an evergreen climber, ornaments its vicinity all the year
round. It is the only member of the family Araliaceae found in Poland. The family
is represented primarily in tropical areas, particularly in Asia [10]. Ivy has
2 growth forms: juvenile and mature. Transition from one form to the other often
takes place when the plant reaches the top of a wall or another support.

Many earlier publications reported on natural localities of flowering and
fruiting ivy in Poland, summarized by Boratyńska [2]. She listed 144 localities
in the western part of Polish Pomerania, central Poland, the submontane zone,
and the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska).
Such distribution confirmed the limit of the species in the sexual phase proposed
by Bożek [3], which slightly differs from that suggested by Olaczek [19].
The latter author believed that the limit of distribution of fruiting specimens
crosses central Poland. The limit is difficult to determine precisely because
the localities are scattered and it is unclear whether they are of natural origin
or anthropogenic. However, in the east, flowering ivy is rarer, and the limiting
factor is climate [2]. In the west and south of Poland it is more frequent [28].

The maps (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2) showing the distribution of Hedera helix in ATOPL squares for flowering and vegetative specimens in Wielkopolska are very similar. Almost none of Hedra helix in eastern Wielkopolska is due to a small number of old cemeteries and not to climatic conditions.

Fig. 2. Hedera helix distraction in the old cemeteries
of Wielkopolska – will prove generous

The high frequency off Hedera helix in old cemeteries, especially of
flowering specimens, is particularly noteworthy. The species was planted mostly
because of its symbolic meaning when the cemeteries were created, i.e. before
World War II. In cemeteries it often covers nearly 100% of the herb layer, and
sometimes in the tree layer it climbs on all trees. It is quite expansive, introduced
to the United States, Canada, Hawaii, Russia, Australia and Oceania, India, Brazil,
and South Africa, where it is an invasive species [14].

The distribution of fruiting ivy in the former Szczecin Province (NW Poland)
is described by Ćwikliński [6], who found it in 152 localities. Stachak
et al. [22] in the eastern part of Szczecin Lowland found flowering specimens
near 23 churches and in 31 cemeteries. Their next survey [23] covered the western
part of Szczecin Lowland, west of the river Oder (Odra) and Szczecin Lagoon (Zalew
Szczeciński). In that area, flowering and fruiting ivy was observed in 31
villages. In the city of Szczecin, Nowak [17] found 52 localities of Hedera
helix, distributed in 13 districts east of the Oder (outside cemeteries and
parks). In gardens and near institutions in the districts of Szczecin that are
located west of the Oder, Zieliński [27] recorded 197 sexually reproducing
specimens.

In the city of Wrocław (SW Poland), flowering specimens were found inlocalities,
mostlyin old cemeteries [26]. In the city of Poznań, in one district,
Grunwald [12], flowering Hedera helix was recorded in 609 localities.
Most of the specimens were in gardens, usually climbing on fruiting trees: Malus
domestica and Pyrus communis. Thus this city (the capital of the Wielkopolska
region) has the largest number of documented localities of flowering ivy.

Within the borders of Poland, flowering of this species in the wild is rare,
and fruiting is even rarer. Many authors reported on flowering and fruiting specimens
of Hedera helix after its protection was limited to flowering specimens
[e.g. 1, 5, 7–9, 11, 15, 20]. Previously, natural localities of fruiting
specimens were known from the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, and flowering
specimens were also found in the lower Vistula valley in Pomerania, near Puławy
and Pieniny Mts. [10].

The species produces flowers and fruits mostly in gardens, on walls, in parks,
and cemeteries. Its fruits can ripen already in November, but this is rare and
observed only in the south of Europe. Usually they ripen in spring (in March
or April) of the following year.

Its invasive character is due to the ease and rate of dispersal, lack of pests,
andresistance to low temperatures. It is treated as a problematic species
because when growing on the ground it forms dense carpets, which hamper the growth
of native plants. When climbing on trees, ivy grows higher and higher, successively
causing death of lower branches, as it limits their access to sunlight.

Woodlands invaded by Hedera helix in the USA are ivy deserts. The species
also included in the list of weeds of the states of Washington and Oregon. In
contrast to observations from Europe, American publications provide evidence
on a negative effect of ivy on trees, informing about weaker growth of trees
strongly covered by H. helix and about the higher risk of tree breaking
or uprooting during rainstorms, gales, or snowfall [14].

CONCLUSIONS

Hedra helix is the only member of the family Araliaceae in Poland,
the only climber with evergreen leaves, the only one whose fruits ripen in the
following year, and the only one flowering in tree crowns. My results show that
this species is present in about 50% of the investigated cemeteries, and flowers
in nearly 40%. It often climbs on all trees in the studied cemeteries.

Hedera helix flowers and fruits more often at the sites where it had
been planted. In forests it is disseminated by birds and usually does not flower.
Ivy is not ‘out of fashion’ but lost its symbolic meaning. It is
still cultivated in gardens, propagated as an ornamental. It is naturalized outside
its natural range, becoming a problematic invasive species there.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The presented studies have been financed by the NCN grant No.
NN 304 204 937

Responses to this article, comments are
invited and should be submitted within three months of the publication of the article.
If accepted for publication, they will be published in the chapter headed 'Discussions'
and hyperlinked to the article.